The $485,000 grant will be split between the two
institutions, with the majority going to Portland State University's Department
of Architecture, and the remainder going to the Ecole Speciale
d'Architecture.

The partnership, led by Portland State University Department
of Architecture professor Sergio Palleroni
and Ecole Speciale d'Architecture de Paris professor Marie Aquilino, will focus
on architecture and human dignity, allowing students from Paris and from
Portland to collaboratively design and build two orphanages in Haiti during the
first two years of the partnership.

The third year of the partnership will
feature a cultural and educational exchange in which Portland State University
architecture students will study at the Ecole in Paris and the Parisian
students will come to Portland to learn. Engineering students from Portland
State University will also participate in the project. Together, approximately
140 students from both institutions over three years will benefit from the
cross-cultural partnership.

"This project has Sergio's name written all over it:
the innovative design of the curriculum to meet a tremendous and urgent need,
the dense cultural and design experience afforded to the students, and an
implicit trust in everyone involved," said Megan McMorran, director of programming
and operations for the Action Center, Mercy Corps.

Haiti was chosen as the focus of the collaboration
because of the need for rebuilding in the earthquake-ravaged country, and both
programs will bring unique strengths and specialties that are expected to
complement each other: the Ecole Special d'Architecture de Paris specializes in
emergency architecture, and the Department of Architecture of Portland State University
focuses on field work and community engagement. The two specialties will
combine to form a whole that creates a strong learning-by-doing experience for
all students involved.

"This is a wonderful recognition of Sergio's initiatives
and the enthusiasm he has brought to the outreach efforts that distinguish the
architecture program at PSU," said John Blumthal, principal at Yost Grube Hall
architects and a board member for Architects without Borders. "I believe
the student experiences made possible by this grant will influence the
life-long direction of professional careers and provide these prospective
architects a global perspective for their work that they would not gain in any
other way."

The work enabled by the PUF grant will build on the
Department of Architecture's work in public interest architecture, for which
Palleroni was recently given the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2011
Latrobe Prize. Palleroni and his colleagues won the Latrobe Prize for their
research proposal looking into the role architects play in public interest
projects.

The Partner University Fund, launched by the Embassy of
France to the U.S., is a public-private partnership meant to promote innovative
collaborations in research and education between French and American
institutions of higher education.